Fox News host Chris Wallace asserted that President Trump’s rhetoric is dividing the United States along racial lines.
Wallace interviewed White House senior adviser Stephen Miller on Sunday and pressed Miller on Trump’s statements against progressive members of Congress. Wallace also brought up past Trump comments on illegal immigrants, Muslims, and where former President Barack Obama was born.
“The president said that President Obama ‘has been the most ignorant president in our history.’ When asked about [Russian President Vladimir Putin], he said ‘there are a lot of killers. You think our country is so innocent?'” Wallace stated, quoting past statements by Trump.
The Fox News host asserted that Trump’s comments rival those made by the “squad” of freshman progressive lawmakers — Reps. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts. Trump has recently characterized the group as un-American and anti-Israel.
Miller defended Trump against Wallace’s criticism, pointing to a “huge difference” between Trump’s “America First” agenda and the squad’s ideology.
“Nobody has any problem with what the president’s policies have been,” Wallace said. “It’s when he goes into stoking racial fears. I’ve never called any of his tweets racist, but there is no question he is stoking racial division.”
Miller maintained that Trump’s statements and agenda come from a “love for America” and that comments made by Ocasio-Cortez and the other progressives are fundamentally anti-American.
